Chinese telecom firms unite for submarine cable project: Reuters
As they find it increasingly difficult to partner with Western network operators, China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom have banded together to deploy their own submarine cable system that will connect Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, Reuters reports. The Europe-Middle East-Asia (EMA) submarine network will use a route that roughly parallels the upcoming Southeast Asia-Middle East-Western Europe-6 (SeaMeWe-6) undersea system, according to the report.
Reuters says the Chinese telecom giants will spend roughly $500 million on the submarine network, with China’s HMN Technologies Co. Ltd. the main contractor. EMA will run from Hong Kong to China's Hainan province, then to Singapore, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and France. The group behind the project has signed memoranda of understanding with Orange SA, Pakistan Telecommunication Co. Ltd., Telecom Egypt, and Zain Saudi Arabia (a unit of Mobile Telecommunications Company K.S.C.P. of Kuwait), according to Reuters. The EMA system is expected to be operational by 2025.
SeaMeWe-6 also will run between Singapore and France, with stops in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and six other countries along the way. Reuters notes that China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom originally were part of the SeaMeWe-6 consortium but left the group when the U.S. convinced the other consortium members to replace HMN Technologies as the main contractor with SubCom. The U.S. government slapped sanctions on HMN Technologies in December 2021, which would have limited the ability of U.S. customers to use the cable, Reuters points out.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.